towards tomorrow
by Shayerahol22
Summary: when your whole world crumbles around you, tomorrow may be the only thing you have left. please r&r!
1. Chapter 1

Ch.1

A small, redhead girl known as Sariah pelted back towards her house. She arrived, panting and out of breath and cringed at the sight of her father tapping his foot slowly and angrily with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I'm…. here." She gasped in between breaths while she rested her hands on her knees.

"Sariah." Her father started in the voice that stated clearly that she was in trouble.

"What time is it?" She glanced at the sun that was just sinking beyond the horizon and answered meekly

"Sunset?" "Yes it's sunset. You know that you're supposed to be home by now. What if the fire nation soldiers caught you out here earthbending? You wouldn't stand a chance against a fully trained firebender."

Sariah groaned inwardly, Dad ALWAYS underestimated her abilities. No matter how much she told him not to worry, he still insisted that she be back before sunset. She stood up, having regained her breath.

"Yeah dad, I know, I just lost track of time, that's all."

"Well that irresponsibility could have cost us our lives."

"How would your life be in danger? I'd be the only one they'd see." She snapped back, her voice rising in frustration.

"Because they'd suspect another person or group of people live around here."

Sariah scowled disdainfully at her father, although she knew that he was right. But still, what were the odds that she'd been seen anyways? Nobody had ever seen her before, what reason did they have to start now? Taking a deep breath to keep her fiery temper under control, she opened the door and stomped to bed

Several hours had passed and it was nearing midnight. Even Sariah's father had retired to bed. A large, malicious looking man clad in red and black peered though the window of the cozy wooden house that Sarah and her father lived in. They'd been suspicious of earthbenders living here for some time, but they'd never had proof until now. He raised his arm and with a sharp jab, shot a flurry of sparks up into the air. Patiently the mysterious man stood by the window until he heard a faint rustling in the bushes behind him. He turned around with a half smile on his face.

"Is everything set up?" Questioned voice of the person in the shadows. The man who had shot up the signal nodded in return.

"OK, good. Let's burn the place to the ground." The smaller man replied eagerly. The two Fire nation soldiers turned back to face the wooden house both of them with twin grins on their faces.

Meanwhile, Sariah's father had awoken from his heavy slumber in order to quench the thirst created by his snoring. He stumbled sleepily outside where the water pump sat. Just as he was about to crank it though, voices drifted from the front of his house.

"OK, good. Let's burn this place to the ground." His eyes widened in shock, as his mind immediately supplied him with an image of firebenders. As fast as he could without being heard he scrambled back inside into his daughters room.

"Sariah." He whispered urgently, while shaking his daughter gently "Sariah, wake up!" Sariah moaned in protest to the shaking and her eyes remained firmly shut. Suddenly an idea struck her nerve wracked father.

"Don't make me open the shades." He threatened, although it was pitch black outside. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open.

"Okay okay I'm up" she cried out sitting up in bed. Her father cringed at how loud her voice seemed in the quiet of the night and looked around frightfully as if he thought that the firebenders had heard her protests.

"Come on sweetie. We have to go somewhere right now." She rubbed her eyes sleepily, making it obvious that leaving was the last thing she wanted to do.

"Do I HAVE to?" She whined, but she got up sullenly, and followed her father as he made his way stealthily to the back door. As he swung the door open, she stared up at the night sky in surprise.

HEY! It's not morning yet."

"Shhhh!" he whispered loudly as he heard the silence of the night get replaced by the burning of the front door. It was this that caused him to abandon all thoughts of stealth as he shouted to his wide eyed daughter. "RUN!" He pushed her quickly out the door as the soldiers caught sight of him. "RUN!" He repeated to his petrified daughter. She snapped out of her daze and complied, scampering down the rocky path, the one that she had traveled many a day, but now seemed so strange and foreign. Now she was past the water pump and a few seconds later, the fence. Only then did she stop, to look back on the house that she had lived in literally since birth. A tear escaped her eye and rolled down her cheek as she saw her lifelong home be engulfed in flame. A scream pierced the night, one that, strangely she recognized as her fathers as one of the firebenders mercilessly slaughtered her only remaining family. With tears now flowing freely down her face, she turned her back on the only home she'd ever had and continued running with a scream echoing in her ears that would haunt her for years to come.


	2. Chapter 2

Sariah stood in the streets of a nearby town, awe shortly replacing the mournful sorrow in her heart. The midday bustle at the market caught her attention. She started heading over there, keeping a close watch on everyone that crossed her path. The delicious aroma of freshly baked bread wafted past her nose and her stomach growled noisily, demanding food after having to run all night.

"What I'd give for a loaf of bread right now." She thought wistfully, staring at the large, extremely tough looking vender. Her stomach growled again, even louder this time and she flinched.

"Come to think of it, I could use some water too." Her throat was parched and dry, while she was used to running, never for that long, with the fear of being caught and the adrenaline that had coursed through her veins overriding her need to sleep and the constant ache in her legs. Even the stitch in her side hadn't seemed as painful as it usually would have, as she practically flew through the night.

"Too bad I don't have any money" she thought, self pity splashing through her mind for a split second until she shook her head to clear her sleep deprived brain.

Taking a second to build her self confidence Sariah walked over to the baker's food stand.

"Sir?" She asked politely to the large man behind the counter. As the large hulk of a man turned to face her, she swallowed nervously; he was even more frightening from the front than the back.

"Wadaya want?" He growled impatiently, not really wanting to serve a girl of her age. She swallowed again before answering:

"Um, m-my house was just d-destroyed by fire nation soldiers" She stuttered hoarsely. "C-could I have a l-loaf of bread please S-sir?" He gave her the once over, looking at her scraped and cut up feet and then slowly made his way up past her nightgown, then looked up to her eyes, dark circles giving proof of her sudden awakening. Then he stared at her hair, messy and tangled that gave her already ragged appearance a little bit more believability. His eyes narrowed, trying to see if she wasn't just some local child, trying to con him out of some of his valuable food. "No." he stated, in a firm I'm-not-going-to-take-this-rubbish type of voice. "No. I can't allow it. Good day." He turned away abruptly, leaving the hungry child with even less hope then she'd had to begin with. As he turned away to deal with another customer, a desperate idea struck her.

"Just this once, after this I'll never do it again." Taking a deep breath when nobody-not even the shop owner was looking, she grabbed a loaf of bread and tucked it into her pocket, then as inconspicuously as possible she walked away, already drooling over the fair sized loaf of bread in her pocket.

"What if I get caught" she worried anxiously, all the while drifting further and further away from the bread stand without being noticed. Finally, she was safe. After a quick glance around to see if anyone was watching, she plopped down in the dirt next to an old rickety looking shop. Just as she was about to bite into the loaf of bread, she heard a cry ring out from inside the shop. She leapt to her feet in surprise, tucking the bread back into the large pocket of her nightdress. She crept over to the door of the run-down shack, and her eyes fell upon a horrible scene. Two Fire Nation Soldiers had obviously broken the door down and had carelessly smashed their way inside. Now, an old woman of about sixty five was sprawled out on the floor unceremoniously while the two soldiers smashed her small shack. Her eyed widened in horror, as the previous night flashed through her head. She felt tears coming on, but instead her eyes narrowed angrily and she shouted to the armed non-bending soldiers. "HEY!!!!! Why don't you just leave her alone huh?!?!" Oops. The two guards turned to face her angrily while the old woman looked on with fright. "So you wanna fight, do ya girlie?" This set her off for a moment but she braced herself for combat. The two soldiers charged at her, swords drawn. Before even her mind had time to react though, she had already slammed her foot into the ground, lifting a small boulder up into the air. By then her mind had caught up to the rest of her and she slammed the rock into the guard closest to her. The effect was domino. The boulder slammed into him, he slammed into the guard behind him, who then slammed into the wall. The guard pinned to the wall, fell down limply, and didn't get up. But the one that had been originally struck struggled to his feet. Her foot meeting the ground again, accompanied by a swift arm movement drug the unwary soldier underground. Concern laden in Sariah's eyes, she walked over to the old woman who cringed in fear.

"I won't hurt you." Sariah stated quietly, while reaching down to help the poor woman up. When she finally had the woman standing up and leaning on her shoulder she created a chair out of the shops earthen floor. Gently setting the old woman down she let the soldier out of the ground and watched as he passed out in a dead faint. She turned back to the old woman who now had tears pouring down her face. Scared that the men had harmed the frail lady she asked

"What's wrong?" The lady looked up and said in a tone that matched Sariah's soft soprano; "you helped me even though they were probably about three times your size. I am Madame Roukai. Although I owe you my life, these men have destroyed my shop-my home and all my food. I have nothing." Sariah thought guiltily back to the loaf of bread in her pocket and sighed again. Drawing it out of her gown she said "here you go, you will probably need it more than I will. And my name is Sariah by the way." The old woman's eyes started to turn misty again as she stared first at Sariah, then at the bread in her hands. "I can't take this; won't your parents be mad if you didn't bring it home?" Now it was Sariah's turn to cry. She turned away from Madame Roukai and whispered hoping to keep her voice from cracking, "No. They won't" Madame Roukai seemed to understand and grasped the traumatized girl in a hug. Startled so, that when Madame Roukai let her go she just stood there, stunned. She felt a kind spirit within the woman and she herself felt a yearning to tell this woman-this stranger of her hard night. Inside her head, voices conflicted with each other.

"We should tell, she can be trusted, we-her and I have been through the same past." This thought warmed her but her rational side kept her at bay.

"I hardly know her! For all I know, she's plotting how to turn me over to the fire nation right now. I should take the loaf of bread back too. I need it more anyways." This thought cooled her emotions slightly, but filled her heart with grief about not helping a poor old woman. She stared down at the food in her hands and turned back to Madame Roukai. Carefully she broke the loaf of bread in half and offered her new friend a chunk. After a moment of hesitation, Madame Roukai accepted the food and took a bite just as Sariah plopped onto the floor next to her. After taking a bite of her own loaf of bread, she told Madame Roukai of her past. How she blamed herself for her fathers death, how she had wound up in the village, she even told her of how she stole the bread! The Madame was a good audience, asking her questions when appropriate, and she always knew when to comfort or just listen to Sariah's tale. As Sariah finished, she concluded in a stubborn voice,

"And I'm never going to earthbend ever again." To this Madame Roukai looked shocked.

"Why would you give up earthbending? You love it."

"Because it cost my father his life." Came Sariah's answer

"But it saved mine." Madame Roukai replied deftly. "I would probably be dead if it wasn't for you." Sariah looked downcast. As if giving it up would be like losing a friend. But she remained strong in her decision and she stood up.

"I wasn't thinking. I just saw what was happening and I just; I just couldn't help but help you. Thank you for talking with me, it's helped me more than you can imagine. But now I guess I should leave now." With a last glance back at the madam, she walked sadly out of the shop.

Once outside, a man was standing calmly in front of her.

"Hello." He stated in an icy cold tone that sent chills up and down her side. Taking a step back, she replied nervously, "Um, hi." The finely dressed man looked over her scrawny and scraggly figure and he carefully scrutinized her. Abruptly he stated

"Come with me."

"Excuse me? I don't even know you."

"Oh, but I know you. You stole a loaf of bread from Toe-Shai the bread vendor, and if you don't come to work with me, I will turn you in to him. And I really don't think you want to feel his wrath." A smile unfurled on his face as Sariah tried to bargain. "I was really hungry. I hadn't had food for a while! I'm homeless! I'm an orphan, please don't turn me in!" She begged nervously, fear creeping into her heart.

"I won't turn you in, but you will have to work with me." Her head hung down in defeat and as he started to walk away, she followed shame obvious in the way that she held herself. Now that she had accepted her capture, she was starting to get curious. What kind of place did he work at? He seemed to be dressed very nicely, maybe her search for a new home would come to an end after her short yet perilous journey. As they reached the outskirts of the city, they stopped in front of a large tent. She looked at him curiously, and asked, "What are we doing here?"

"This." He stated "Is the Fire Nation Circus, your new home."


	3. Chapter 3

you see that button at the bottom of the page? the one that says review? CLICK IT!!!!! you know you want to...

**Disclaimer: **checks nope, still don't own avatar. sobs in corner

"B-I um, The_ Circus_? A fire nation Circus! This is where you work?!" Sariah sputtered.

"No." Came his response, and he couldn't help but smirk at the look of total relief that washed over her only to be ruined by the continuation of his response. "I own it. I am the ringmaster of this fine establishment." At this, Sariah couldn't help but roll her eyes. Her loathe for the fire nation returning. "Once you learn everything that you need, you will become part of the act. And you will not eat nor sleep until you learn."

"But, what if I'm a slow learner?" She questioned him anxiety creeping into her voice although she was indeed quick to pick up on things when she tried. Still, it would be nice to have a reason to take my time with the learning; she mused while he smirked again and replied:

"Well then you might just go hungry." Yikes. She thought, now extremely wary of this foreboding man. Well I suppose it's a good thing that I'm not a slow learner.

The ringmaster headed inside the tent where everyone was working.

"GIRL" He shouted up to a tall contortionist balancing on a high wire with a net secured underneath her. At the ringmasters call however, she undauntedly leapt off the wire, landing safely on the net, from where she climbed down unharmed.

"Hello!" Came the cheery voice of the pink clad contortionist.

"Ty lee, get her an outfit identical to yours, She will practice with you daily, but will not participate in the show, not until she's ready. Also she will not eat or sleep until she's done training." He ordered. But before Ty lee complied, she said this,

"Oh, you can't possibly deprive her of food and water. That's far too cruel, besides; with out sleep and food, she could hurt herself, and possibly mess up. And that would be just horrible!" Sariah stared wide eyed at the optimism of the said 'Ty Lee'. Maybe she could help me somehow. Sariah's brain whirled back into action.

"Haha, come on, lets go get you a cot. It's getting late!" Ty lee cartwheeled out of the tent and didn't stop until she reached a much smaller pink one.

"You can sleep in my room tonight if you want, by the way what's your name?"

"Sariah," she answered shyly as the two walked into the tent. Sariah looked around in mild shock. It appeared larger on the inside, even though it really wasn't and it was just so, so pink. Sariah shuddered at the prospect of spending the rest of her life here, and with that girl.

"What was her name again?" Sariah thought suddenly not wanting to sound rude to the girl who was going to teach her. "Toe-Lee? Or was it Ty-Low?" Sariah couldn't remember. Ty-Lee, who seemingly read her mind said; "Jus tin case you don't remember, my name is Ty-Lee." Sariah nodded, just as two large men came up to the tent with a small cot that would serve as her new bed. An awkward silence fell over the tent as the men left. As Ty-Lee busily pulled extra sheets from her dresser, Sariah looked around at her room.

"No." She shook her head at the thought. "This is NOT my home, and it never will be. As soon as I see my moment, I'm gonna get out of here, and I'm not going to earthbend. I don't need it to survive. I will do this all on my own." She sat down on the bed just as Ty Lee finished making it, determination coursing through her heart.

"You should probably change into your nightclothes; we tend to wake up pretty early around here." Sariah jumped at Ty-Lee's endlessly perky voice snapping her out of her daydream, and stared sheepishly down at her shabby nightclothes.

"I-I don't have any night-" But she was cut off by Ty-lee. "Say no more!" and she watched as Ty-lee pulled a small nightgown out and tossed it to her.

"Ugh pink again. Is this the only color she has?" Sariah couldn't help but wonder as she self consciously changed into the gown. As she finished pulling it over her head she remembered one time that she had caught her father wearing her mom's dress. Sariah was only seven years old.

_Flashback_

_Sariah stood innocently at the door of her parents bedroom a look immediately appearing on her face that read; what the-. And for a good reason, her father stood in the center of the room his every-day clothes on the floor. In their place however, was a dress, her mom's nightdress, to be exact. The one she always wore to bed. Her mom was sitting on the bed, splitting her sides laughing. She looked up again, this time past her father and spotted Sariah. This only caused her to laugh harder, knowing that only moments before Sariah had entered the room her father had said "Well, at least Sariah isn't awake to see this." Her mom started rolling on her bed and quickly fell off, seemingly impervious to Sariah's father and his death stare. Then he caught sight of Sariah. Sariah cringed, knowing that she would be in trouble, as he shouted at her to leave the room. Sariah obeyed meekly, scampering out as fast as she could. But she would not let her father's embarrassment keep her down. She snuck outside to where her parent's windowless room stood and carefully peeked in. Now she wanted to laugh, loud and hard. Her mother had finally managed to regain her composure and was scolding her father for yelling at 'her precious little angel' Sariah snickered, and clamped her hand over her mouth to stifle it. "Stupid bet." Sariah silenced instantly, suddenly curious._

"_Shouldn't have betted against it, should've know the kid was an earthbender." Her dad stated angrily, as he started to pull the dress off over his head._

"_OH NO YOU DON'T!!!!! Sariah's mom yelled, just as angry as her father. "You have to wear that dress all of tomorrow, and tonight. It was part of the bet, remember?"_

_Her father scowled again and dropped the dress muttering quietly_

"_Actually, I was hoping you didn't." Her mom's eyes flashed, and she replied coolly,_

"_It's raining tonight."_

"_Yeah, so-oh shoot, you're not really gonna." Her mother's face remained cool as she listened to him plead._

"_Please Arabelle, don't send me out there, It'll be freezing!"_

"_So, you asked for it Jeoreme." A wicked grin spread across her father's face as Sariah watched him tackle her mom, now back on the bed with a swift flurry of tickles. Sariah, growing bored of her parents' battle, snuck back inside into the privacy of her own room._

_End Flashback_

Sariah sat on her cot, tears now brimming in her eyes as she stared in the vague direction of her lap, overwhelmed by the intense pain of the old memory that had lain forgotten for some time.

"Why are ya crying Sariah, don't you like it here?" Sariah shook the memory out of her head, took a shaky breath and replied; "yeah, I like it here," a lie that rolled off of her tongue as easily as stealing the loaf of bread. Simple, yeah, way too easy especially for a girl that had hardly ever lied before in her life. With a small sigh, Sariah rolled over and went to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**disclaimer: **checks nope, still don't own it. cries

_Sariah stood in a small grassy field with the wind blowing gently at her pulled back hair. Her emerald green eyes sparkled at the sight of her mother and father standing in front of her, arm in arm. They both had a loving smile on their faces as they stared at their daughter. Sariah stared up at the sun, and smiled slowly, before looking back towards her parents._

_She should've known it wouldn't last. From behind her parents, a Fire Nation Soldier crept stealthily up, for the most part, undetected. Her eyes widening in horror, as the tranquil scene was broken, she started shouting frantically to her parents;_

"_MOM, DAD, LOOK OUT, A FIREBENDER!" She shouted waving her arms frantically. She stopped short when she realized that no sound came out of her mouth nor did her parents respond to her frantic waving. In an instant, the beautiful scenery was replaced with a charred barren wasteland, and the cloudless sky turned jet-black with smog. Then the firebender launched a blast of fire at her parent's unsuspecting backs and her mind flew into oblivion. But just as everything whited out, she heard her father's unmistakable voice state: "Murderer" and her mother's sweet soprano continuing, "you could have saved us Sariah, why didn't you?"_

Sariah awoke in a cold sweat, entangled in her sheets. Her breathing was sharp and rapid, as if she'd just ran a marathon. Tears stung at her eyes as the vivid dream replayed itself in her head as she looked around the unfamiliar tent. She stared at the slightly older pink-clad girl, the one snoring ever so slightly and silently envied the deep sleep she was in. Now the dream was starting to fade, and Sariah's sense of calm was returning. She closed her eyes and lay down again, but sleep never came. She opened her eyes and stared up at the pink roof covering while listening to Ty-Lee's gentle snores, just thinking about things. It didn't matter what, but even fluff was enough to keep her mind off of the sickening pit of misery that still dwelled in her stomach. She must have dozed off sometime later that night because seemingly seconds later, Ty-Lee was shaking her rudely awake.

"C'mon silly, we have to start practicing if you're gonna be in the show with me!" Sariah moaned in protest and flipped her pillow over her head. She wasn't just tired; she was exhausted, having missed almost two nights worth of sleep. Finally, after about five minutes of shaking, she obliged, climbing slowly out of bed. Ty-Lee, realizing that Sariah was up, sped ahead of her, busily pulling a set of clothes out of her dresser, She tossed them to Sariah who was now standing up but with her eyes still closed. The garments caught her square in the face, which gave her a look of bewilderment. Grudgingly, she began to change into the clothes given to her, but as Ty-Lee turned around, Sariah found herself glaring and sticking her tongue out at the unwary girl. When she was fully dressed and groomed, she followed Ty-Lee outside to a fairly short line that wafted the aroma of sheep-hen eggs over to where they were standing. The two quickly got their food and as they sat down to eat; Sariah couldn't help but notice all the strange people there. There were people that were ridiculously tall, ridiculously short, and just plain ridiculous.

Sariah ate quietly, thankful to have some decent food at last, all the while listening to Ty-Lee chatter on about how great living in the circus is. As soon as they finished, Ty-Lee led her to the large main tent to begin Sariah's training. Dropping easily into the splits, she told Sariah to stretch as close to the splits as she could. Sariah sat down and spread her legs apart, failing miserably, and causing Ty-Lee to chuckle.

"Let's try something simpler, how about cartwheels?" A tiny smile appeared on Sariah's face, as she instantly did a cartwheel, much to Ty-Lee's delight.

"Glorious! There are so many moves based from cartwheels, this'll make it so that you can be in the show even sooner!" In her excitement, Ty-Lee did a round-off, causing Sariah to desperately hope that gymnastics wouldn't turn her into a total circus freak like her mentor.

"Now you try it! It's easy!" Sariah rolled her eyes and did a round-off as well, causing Ty-Lee to squeal with excitement.

"Okay, now try this!" Ty-Lee did a front flip, landing perfectly on her feet. Sariah felt a worried look cross her face as she started to flip. To her surprise she actually got the flip correct, but instead of the perfect landing instructed by Ty lee, she fell onto her bottom, hard. Ty lee giggled at Sariah's 2 point landing, and she received yet another glare from the young girl. Sariah carefully stood up, rubbing her sore bottom. Now Ty lee flipped over into a handstand and the look on Sariah's face clearly stated "nuh-uh, there is NO way I am going to do that." Sensing her reluctance Ty lee stated;

"C'mon, it's easy, look I'll help you." In a flash, she was back on her feet and ready to help Sariah. "Okay, first do a cartwheel. I'll hold your waist and help you stay upright, then after a few seconds, I'll let go and see if you can balance." Albeit still reluctant, Sariah did a cartwheel. And true to her word, Ty lee caught her. And then let go. Sariah stayed upright for a few seconds and then toppled down into a heap.

Several hours later, an exhausted Sariah toppled into bed. She and Ty lee had practiced all day, now Sariah felt it. She had finally perfected the handstand, and could land on her feet for the front flip, but she would always fall down after that. Too tired to even bother to change out of her clothes, Sariah closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Ch. 5

Meh, still don't own avatar, just Sariah, and sorreh it took so long to update, plz don't hurt me Emerson. /hides under bed/ you too blck

One year later

Sariah stood in front of the roaring audience, sweat dripping down her face. She was about to do a series of flips and cartwheels as a part of the grand finale. She smiled, confident that the act would be easy. She started off at a run, and as she came close to the starting point of her first flip, she jumped, landing easily on her hands. But as she threw her feet towards the ground, her hand caught on a pole that had been accidentally deposited there in someone's haste. She tripped, landing painfully on her chin. The crowd booed at her mistake, and several got up to leave. Quietly, the ringmaster came out and in his regal voice ordered for her to join him in the back room. Once there, Sariah couldn't help but notice that she was shaking all over. The ringmaster turned to face her and glared, the kindly act he held during the show gone.

"You messed up in my show. After all of the training I had Ty-Lee put you through, you messed up! And on the finale! I will not stand for this, and you WILL be punished!" Sariah swallowed, her wariness from when she had first met him returning tenfold. She bowed her head, and in an apologetic voice she murmured;

"I'm sorry sir, it was a mistake sir. I-it won't happen again sir." He smiled at her attempt at a humble demeanor, and responded,

"I'm sure it won't, but just to make sure, I will enforce this incident on your mind." Sariah's head snapped up, eyes wide with fear at this statement.

"NO! Please don't! Stop, please!" She begged as he raised his arm up. She screamed as his hand curled around a fire whip and he struck.

Sariah sat up in bed, her breathing rapid, panicked. Ty-lee was standing over her, a look of concern on her face.

"Are you okay? You were screaming as if you were being attacked or something." Sariah scowled disdainfully. Ty-lee always found a way to put her brand of optimism into everything she did or said. Then however, Ty-lee surprised her by asking quietly,

"Hey, are you alright? Would you like to talk about it?" Sariah was shocked at the concern of her roommate, and feebly stuttered;

"Umm, well I-it was-I just-I'd-I'd really rather not talk about It." She finished lamely, turning her head away, heart pounding. Ever since Sariah had arrived at the circus, she'd put up a block between her and everyone else. But now, she'd almost let Ty-lee in, into her thoughts, everything. But still, no one had ever spoken to her like she was actually important since-

_No_ she cut off that thought abruptly, trying not to put her father's memory into her mind. But it was too late. She felt the tears brimming in her eyes, and brushed them away, hopefully before Ty lee could notice. Just to be safe however, she immediately got up and began to stretch for her first performance. Ty-lee joined her, absentmindedly stretching her legs. It was apparent that she had done more stretches earlier. After a few minutes of stretching in the awkward silence, Ty-Lee spoke up,

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it? Talking usually helps with most people. It'll probably make you feel better." She smiled as she looked at the silent redhead who was staring determinedly at the floor, trying desperately not to make eye contact and thinking;

_I'm not most people_. Despite her best efforts however, she found herself glancing up slightly, with a shy appearance had anyone been able to see them. Sariah pulled her knees back from the stretching position, wrapping her arms around her legs and resting her chin on her knees.

"Well, I messed up, I-in the dream I mean. And then ringmaster got mad and he-" She cut off sharply, the feeling of helplessness and fear returning. Ty-lee looked at her with mild surprise.

"That's all you were scared about? The ringmaster would never do that! He's far too nice." Sariah stifled a snort, concealing it in a cough. Ringmaster? Nice? Yeah right, and Ty-lee is a pessimist.

"Well, anyways, we should go get some breakfast-before the line gets too long, besides, you'll need your strength for the performance." Sariah nodded, and followed Ty-lee out to the food line.

Sariah and Ty-lee walked to the line, taking plates and forks. However, as they sat down to eat, the ringmaster approached them. Without bothering to sit down, he started talking to Ty-lee.

"There's been a change in plans, Ty-lee, the fire lord's own daughter, the fire princess has decided to attend our humble circus. Since we don't want the performance to go askew with amateur performers, we will have you be the only of you two to perform tonight." A flicker of fear crossed Ty-lee's face, before it was replaced with her usual perky smile.

"O-of course, sir, we wouldn't want to displease the fire princess." She replied, slightly nervous as to what Azula had planned for her. The ringmaster beamed with pride.

"Good! Let's give the fire princess something to remember." Ty-lee nodded with an enthusiastic smile, but Sariah could have sworn she'd seen her swallow with fear.

/at the performance/

Sariah watched nervously as fire was sent scattered along the net; it had been no wonder that Ty-lee had been scared. But she didn't seem to flinch as she continued her balancing act. Sariah herself nearly lost it when the majestic animals had been released. Now, as she walked back towards her tent, she couldn't help but feel relieved that she hadn't had to perform. _Perhaps my dream had been a little impractical after all._ She thought with a small sigh. Just as se was about to pull open the tent flap however, she froze, hearing the evil voice of the future fire lady.

"What an exquisite performance. I can't wait to see how you'll top yourself tomorrow."

_Tomorrow? That witch will be coming back tomorrow?_ Sariah thought nervously, as she heard Ty-lee's reply.

"I'm sorry Azula, but unfortunately there won't be a show tomorrow." _Not with me anyways. _Ty-lee added silently. _What's going on! Ty-lee's quitting! Why? She loves it here! _Sariah was genuinely puzzled as she waited for the answer, now shamelessly eavesdropping on the conversation.

"Really?" Came Azula's response. _Wow, I thought she would have been ma- _Sariah's train of thought was cut short by the clanging of Ty-lee's tiara on it's hook.

"The universe has given me strong hints that it's time for a career change. I want to join you on your mission." _Mission!? What's going on exactly? Does the princess somehow know Ty-lee?_ Sariah put her fingertips to her temple, trying to take it all in. Suddenly, the tent flap started to open, and, not wanting to be caught eavesdropping, Sariah slipped into the shadows, unnoticed by all.

"Wait!" came Ty-lee's voice, "there's a girl that I bunk with, what'll she think if I just go and vanish?" Sariah could almost feel the icy glare cast by Azula just then.

"I'm sure the ringmaster will explain everything. Now, come along, we must leave for Omashu immediately."

"Yes Azula" came a slightly sad sounding reply from Ty-lee as the two walked away.


End file.
